Endless chain conveyor for a terminal applicator

ABSTRACT

A conveyor system for transporting electrical wire leads to a terminal press having the terminal applicator enclosed within a safety shield, the system including an endless chain conveyor having a number of clamp assemblies and being mounted on a pair of sprocket wheels for transferring the wire leads from a load position to a position in register with the terminal applicator under the shield. A wire lead register is provided at the load position and a step-by-step precision drive mechanism accurately locates the pre-registered wire leads in the terminal applicator.

United States Patent Gudmestad Jan. 7, 1975 TERMINAL APPLICATOR Inventor:

Assignee:

[22] Filed:

References Cited ENDLESS CHAIN CONVEYOR FOR A UNITED STATES PATENTS y I I l 88 41 A! 43 I s 16 14 Ragnar Gudmestad, West Allis, Wis.

Artos Engineering Company, New Berlin, Wis,

Jan. 21, 1974 Appl. No.: 434,786

US. Cl. 29/203 DT Int. Cl H01! 43/04 Field of Search... 29/203 DT, 203 D8, 203 D,

Gudmestad 198/179 Primary Examiner-Thomas H. Eager Attorney, Agent, or FirmJames E. Nilles [57] ABSTRACT 13 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Patented Jan. 7, 1975 4 Sheets-Sheet L ll-l- Patented Jan. 7, 1975 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 7, 1975 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 7, 1975 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ENDLESS CHAIN CONVEYOR FOR A TERMINAL APPLICATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various types of terminal applicators have been designed for automatically secureing terminals to the stripped ends of electrical wire leads. These applicators are generally manually loaded and include a. terminal applicator press and a terminal applicator which is used to crimp the terminals to the stripped ends of the leads. A substantial force is built up in the terminal applicator in order to permanently secure th terminal to the lead. The force built up in the terminal applicator presents a hazard to the operator when manually aligning the leads in the applicator. Safety shields are now required around the terminal applicator in order to protect the operator from injury. In order to adequately shield the applicator, it has become difficult if not impossible to manually align the leads in the applicator at the speed required for efficient operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The conveyor system of the present invention provides a completely safe arrangement for accurately loeating electrical wire leads in a terminal applicator enclosed within a safety shield. The conveyor system includes an endless chain conveyor having a number of clamp assemblies for carrying the wire leads from a load position to the terminal applicator. The length of the conveyor has been reduced to a minimum by locating the load position a distance from the terminal applicator equal to twice the linear pitch of the conveyor. The danger of injury to the operator has been eliminated by using a small spring force to bias the clamp assemblies to a closed position when manually loading the clamp assemblies. The conveyor is driven in a stepby-step manner by a variable speed precision drive mechanism so that the operator can select a speed commensurate with his ability to load the clamp assemblies. The press is actuated in sequence with the movement of the conveyor by providing switch actuators on the conveyor to activate the terminal press at the end of each step of movement of the conveyor.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the conveyor system showing an endless chain conveyor mounted on the terminal press;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the endless chain conveyor having a section of one of the support plates removed to show the clamp assemblies;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the terminal press and conveyor with the chain removed;

FIG. 4 is a side view partially in section of the drive mechanism for the chain conveyor; and

FIG. 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4 showing the drive mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the electric circuit for the conveyor system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The conveyor system 5 as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings includes a conveyor 10 mounted on the front tor 20 in the terminal press 12. The terminal applicator press 12 shown in the drawings, is substantially similar to the terminal applicator disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,274,664 entitled Terminal Attachment Device" issued on Aug. 26, 1966.

A terminal applicator is used to automatically secure electric terminals 16 to the stripped ends of the wire leads 14. The applicator press 12 is provided with a safety shield 18 to enclose the applicator 20 of the applicator press 12 and protect the operator from injury. It should be noted that the shield 18 makes it difficult for the operator to feed the wire leads l4 quickly and easily into the applicator 20.

In accordance with the invention, the conveyor 10 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 is used to automatically carry the wire leads 14 under the shield 18 and to precisely align the wire leads 14 into the applicator 20 of the applicator press 12. The conveyor 10 is similar to the conveyor shown in US. Pat. No. 3,703,954 entitled Conveyor Systems for Wire Like Articles issued on Nov. 28, I972. The conveyor 10 includes a pair of support plates 22 mounted in a parallel spaced relation on the front of the applicator press 12 by a number of bolts 15. The plates 22 are provided with registering means 88 for registering the wire leads 14 at the load position and discharge means 96 for discharging the wire leads 14 from the conveyor 10. An endless chain 32 is supported between the plates 22 by means of a drive sprocket 24 and a driven sprocket 28.

In this regard, the drive sprocket 24 is positioned between the support plates 22 and is mounted for rotary motion on an axle 26 which is journalled in the support plates 22. The driven sprocket 28 is also positioned between the support plates 22 and is mounted on an axle 30 which is journalled in the support plates 22 in a parallel spaced relation to the axle 26. A number of clamp assemblies 34 are mounted on the chain 32 for transporting the wire leads 14 through the applicator 12 to the discharge means 96. Each of the sprockets 24 and 28 includes a number of pairs of teeth 25 spaced at intervals 27 equal to twice the linear pitch of the chain 32. The length of the conveyor 10 has been reduced by spacing the clamp assemblies 34 at intervals equal to twice the linear pitch of the chain 32 as more particularly described hereinafter.

CHAIN DRIVE MECHANISM Means are provided for advancing the chain 32 in a step-by-step manner to accurately align the wire leads 14 in the applicator 20 in the press 12. Such means is in the form of a drive mechanism 36 which provides precise intermittent step-by-step motion to the drive sprocket 24. The drive mechanism 36 as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, includes a drive wheel 38 mounted on the drive shaft 40 of an electric motor 42 and a driven wheel 44 secured to the axle 26 for the sprocket 24.

The driven wheel 44 includes a number of radially extending slots 46 provided in one face of the driven wheel 44 and a number of arcuate recesses 48 provided in the periphery of the driven wheel 44 between the slots 46. The driven wheel 44 is mounted on the axle 26 to provide equivalent angular motion to the drive sprocket 24 as imparted to the driven wheel 44 by the drive wheel 38.

The drive wheel 38 includes a cam roller 50 mounted on the face of the drive wheel 38 and a locking hub 52 having a peripheral surface 53 formed with a radius of curvature equal to the radius of curvature of the arcuate recesses 48 in the periphery of the driven wheel 44. The locking hub 52 is in the form of a segment of a circle having its axis coaxial with the axis of the drive wheel 38.

The driven wheel 44 is positioned with respect to the drive wheel 38 so that the axis of each of the radial slots 46 extends through and is tangential to the radius of the circle through the axis of cam roller 50 when the cam roller 50 enters the slot 46. The locking hub 52 is located ina position to rotate through one of the arcuate recesses 48 provided in the periphery of the driven wheel 44 after each step of motion of the driven wheel 44. In this regard, the lead edge 51 of the peripheral surface 53 of the locking hub should matingly engage the recess 48 when the cam roller 50 is leaving the slot 46 to stop and lock further movement of the conveyor chain 32 until the cam roller 50 enters the next slot 46.

As seen in FIG. 5, on rotation of the drive wheel 38 counterclockwise, the cam roller 50 will enter the slot 46 dead center and will impart angular motion to the driven wheel 44 in a clockwise direction. As the cam roller 50 starts to move out of the radial slot 46, the peripheral surface 53 of the locking hub 52 will start to rotate into the arcuate recess 48 locking the driven wheel 44 and drive sprocket 24 from further motion. The amountof angular movement of the driven wheel 44 will depend on the number of slots 46 provided in the driven wheel 44. In the embodiment shown, the wheel 44 has six slots 46 producing 60 of angular motion in each step of movement. The motor 42 is a variable speed motor that can be set to operate at a speed corresponding to the capability of the operator.

THE CHAIN The chain 32 is a standard type chain and as seen in FIG. 2 is made of successive links alternately comprising pairs of inner side bars 54 and outer side bars 56. The inner side bars 54 extend in parallel spaced lateral alignment with each other and are connected at their opposite ends by hinge bushings 58. The outer side bars 56 extend in parallel spaced lateral alignment with each other and are connected at their opposite ends by hinge pins 60 which extend through the bushings 58. The chain 32 is mounted on the sprocket wheels 24 and 26 with the teeth 25 aligned in the spaces between the inner side bars 54. The outer side bars 56 will settle in the spaces 27 between the teeth 25.

The linear pitch of the chain 32 is equal to the distance between centers of the hinge pins 60. It should be noted that the teeth 25 are spaced a distance apart equal to twice the linear pitch since they only enter the spaces between the inner side bars 54.

THE CLAMP ASSEMBLIES The clamp assemblies 34 are mounted on successive pairs of hinge bushings 58 and as seen in FIG. 2 are mounted between outer side bars 56. Each clamp assembly 34 includes a pair of complementary jaws 62, 64. Each jaw has a base portion 66 with oppositely arcuately recessed end faces 68 and 70. The arcuately recessed end faces 68 are rockably seated on the hinge bushings 58. The arcuately recessed end faces 70 are interconnected by a motion transmitting means in the form of a floating pin 72 to allow for swingable movement of the jaws 62 and 64 about the hinge bushings 58.

means of springs 76 and 78 mounted on a rod 80 which extends loosely through the jaws and supports the springs in compressed condition on its opposite ends. An actuating finger 33 is provided on the lead jaw 64 which extends obliquely downwardly and inwardly from the base portion 66.

Means are provided for opening the jaws 62 and 64 to receive a wire lead 14 for transport to the terminal applicator 12. Such means is in the form of a roller 84 mounted on an arm or plate 86 which is pivotally mounted on the axle 26. The roller 84 is located in a position to engage the finger 33 and open the clamp assemblies 34 as the assemblies come to a stop at the top of the drive sprocket 24 in alignment with'the registering means 88.

In this regard, the registering means 88 is provided to align the wire leads 14 in the open jaws 62, 64 so that the stripped end of the wire lead 14 will be carried and precisely located in the applicator press 20. Such means includes a guide plate 41 located in a parallel spaced relation to the direction of travel of the clamp assemblies 34 and a downwardly inclined surface 43 provided on the upper edge of the supportplates 22. When the conveyor 10 stops, the open jaws 62, 64 should be located in alignment with the surfaces 43. A wire lead 14 can then be placed against the surface 43 and the stripped end pushed against the guide plate 41. A wire lead 14 is then manually placed in the open clamp assembly 34 with the end of the lead 14 abutting against the plate 41.

The clamp assembly 34 is closed as the conveyor 10 starts to move toward the applicator 12 in order to hold the wire 14 in a fixed position for movement into the applicator. This is accomplished by locating the roller 84 in a position to disengage from the end of the finger 33 when the clamp assembly 34 starts to move. As soon as the conveyor 10 starts to move, the finger 33 will fall off of the roller 84 allowing the jaws 62, 64 to snap shut on the wire lead 14 due to the bias of the springs 76, 78.

Means are provided for adjusting the timing of the closing of the clamp assemblies 34. Such means is in the form of the plate 86 which can be rotated about the axle 26 to move the roller 84 with respect to the end of finger 33. The plate 86 is locked in position by means of a set screw 90 provided in an arcuate slot 91 in the support plate 22.

The clamp assemblies 34 are opened to discharge the wire leads 14 after the terminals 16 have been secured to the ends of the leads 14 by means of a number of shoulders 92 provided on the driven sprocket 28. The shoulders 92 are located in a position to engage the finger33 as the clamp assemblies 34 move onto the driven sprocket 28. As the clamp assembly 34 is opened, the wire lead 14 will drop onto the surface of the support plates 22 and will slide on the arcuate surface 94 of the mounting plates 22 following the motion of the jaws 62,

Means are provided for moving the wires 14 outwardly from the jaws 62, 64 in the form of a pair of plates 96 mounted on the end of the support plates 22. Each of the plates 96 has an outwardly and downwardly inclined surface 98 on which the wire leads 14 will slide into a wire receiving trough 100.

Means are provided for activating the press 12 at the end of each step of movement of the chain 32. Such means is in the form of a number of rivets 102 mounted on the driven sprocket 28. The heads of the rivets 102 are arranged to engage a switch 104 which is connected into the circuit for the press 12.

In this regard, the circuit 110 for the conveyor system 5 as seen in FIG. 6 includes a manual switch 112 for connecting the drive motor 42 and the variable speed press motor 115 across the electric lines L1, L2. The speed of the press motor 115 can be varied by means of a speed control switch 114 provided in the power line to motor 115. A press solenoid 17 is connected across the lines L1, L2 in series with the momentary switch 104 which is actuated'by the rivets 102 on the driven sprocket 28. The press soldnoid 17 is operatively connected to a pin clutch 19 which is used to drive the press 12 through a complete revolution once each time the conveyor 10 stops.

As is generally understood, the pin clutch 19 automatically disengages the motor 115 from the applicator press 12 at the end of each cycle of motion. One cycle of motion of the applicator press 12 requires less time than each step of motion of the conveyor 10. The switch 114 can be adjusted by the operator to drive the conveyor 10 at a speed sufficient to keep up with the loading ability of the operator. I In operation, the conveyor 10 is advanced in a stepby-step manner by means of the drive mechanism 36. Each time the chain 32 is stopped a wire 14 is placed in the open clamp assembly 34, a terminal 16 simultaneously secured to the stripped end of a wire lead 14, and a completed wire lead discharged from the conveyor 10. The drive mechanism automatically advances the conveyor at the speed set by the operator or switch 114. Since the wires 14 are advanced directly from the loading point to the applicator in one step of motion, the length of the conveyor 10 from the loading point to the applicator is equal to only twice the linear pitch of the chain.

I claim:

1. A conveyor system for transporting electrical wire leads from a load position to a terminal applicator press having a terminal applicator enclosed within a safety shield, said system comprising: a pair of support plates mounted on the applicator press, a drive sprocket and a driven sprocket mounted for rotary motion on said support plates, an endless chain mounted on said sprocket wheels for movement under said shield, said chain including successive pairs of links thereof swingably interconnected by pivot joints, a number of clamp assemblies mounted on alternate pairs of links on said chain, means for intermittently driving said drive sprocket to move said clamp assemblies in one step from the load position into alignment with the terminal applicator in the applicator press, means at the load position for opening said clamp assemblies to receive an electric wire lead, and means on one of said sprockets for actuating the applicator press at the end of each step of motion.

2. The conveyor according to claim 1 including means on said driven sprocket for opening said clamp assemblies to discharge the completed wire leads from the conveyor.

3. The conveyor according to claim 1 including means for registering the electric wire leads with the applicator at the load position.

4. The conveyor according to claim 1 including means for adjusting the position of the clamp opening means whereby said clamp assemblies close on movement of the clamp assemblies from the load position.

5. The conveyor system according to claim 1 wherein said terminal applicator is spaced from the load position a distance equal to twice the linear pitch of the chain.

6. The conveyor system according to claim 1 wherein said driving means includes: a driven wheel connected to said drive sprocket and having a number of radial slots equally angularly spaced and an arcuate recess between each adjacent slot, a drive wheel having a cam follower positioned to rotate into each radial slot in each revolution of the driven wheel and a locating hub positioned to rotate into each arcuate recess to locate the driven wheel in a fixed position when the cam follower is disengaged from the radial slots.

7. The combination of a terminal applicator press having a terminal applicator for crimping terminals to the ends of electrical wire leads, a shield enclosing the applicator and a conveyor for carrying electrical wire leads from a load position under the shield to the applicator and from the applicator to a discharge position, said conveyor including: an endless chain supported on a pair of sprockets for movement under the shield, a number of clamp assemblies mounted on said chain, means for opening said clamp assemblies at the load position to receive electric wire leads, means for registering the electric wire leads at the load position, means for opening the clamp assemblies at the discharge position to discharge the electrical wire leads from the conveyor, and means for advancing said conveyor chain in a step-by-step manner to move the wire leads from the load position in one step of motion to the applicator and in a second step of motion to the discharge position.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said clamp assemblies are mounted on said chain a spaced distance apart equal to twice the linear pitch of the chain.

9. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said clamp opening means is selectively movable to allow the clamp assemblies to close on the initial movement of the clamp assemblies from said load position.

10. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said means for registering the electric wire leads at the loading position includes a plate spaced from and parallel to the chain for aligning the electric wire leads with the terminal applicator at the load position.

11. The combination according to claim 7 including means on one of said sprockets for actuating said applicator press at the end of each step of motion.

12. The combination of a terminal applicator press having a terminal applicator for crimping terminals to the ends of electrical wire leads, a shield enclosing the applicator and a conveyor for carrying electrical wire leads from a load position under the shield to the applicator and from the applicator to a discharge position, said conveyor including an endless chain supported for movement under the shield, a number of normally closed clamp assemblies mounted on said chain, means for opening said clamp assemblies at the load position to receive electric wire leads manually positioned in the clamp assemblies, and means for advancing said conveyor chain in a step-by-step manner to carry the wire leads from the load position in one step of motion to the applicator, said advancing means including a selectively variable speed control switch whereby the operator can set the speed of the conveyor to correspond to the ability of the operator to position the wire leads in the clamp assemblies at the load position.

13. The combination of a terminal applicator press having a terminal applicator for crimping terminals to the ends of electrical wire leads, a shield enclosing the applicator and a conveyor for carrying electrical wire leads from a load position under the shield to the applicator and from the applicator to a discharge position, said conveyor including: an endless chain supported on a pair of sprockets for movement under the shield, a number of clamp assemblies mounted on said chain, said clamp assemblies being mounted on said chain at spaced intervals equal to twice the linear pitch of said chain, means for opening said clamp assemblies at the load position to receive electric wire leads, means for registering the electric wire leads at the load position, means for opening the clamp assemblies at the discharge position to discharge the electric wire leads from the conveyor, and means for advancing said conveyor chain in a step-by-step manner to move the wire leads from the load position in one step of motion to the applicator and in a second step of motion to the discharge position, one of said sprockets for said chain including means for actuating said terminal applicator at the end of each step of motion. 

1. A conveyor system for transporting electrical wire leads from a load position to a terminal applicator press having a terminal applicator enclosed within a safety shield, said system comprising: a pair of support plates mounted on the applicator press, a drive sprocket and a driven sprocket mounted for rotary motion on said support plates, an endless chain mounted on said sprocket wheels for movement under said shield, said chain including successive pairs of links thereof swingably interconnected by pivot joints, a number of clamp assemblies mounted on alternate pairs of links on said chain, means for intermittently driving said drive sprocket to move said clamp assemblies in one step from the load position into alignment with the terminal applicator in the applicator press, means at the load position for opening said clamp assemblies to receive an electric wire lead, and means on one of said sprockets for actuating the applicator press at the end of each step of motion.
 2. The conveyor according to claim 1 including means on said driven sprocket for opening said clamp assemblies to discharge the completed wire leads from the conveyor.
 3. The conveyor according to claim 1 including means for registering the electric wire leads with the applicator at the load position.
 4. The conveyor according to claim 1 including means for adjusting the position of the clamp opening means whereby said clamp assemblies close on movement of the clamp assemblies from the load position.
 5. The conveyor system according to claim 1 wherein said terminal applicator is spaced from the load position a distance equal to twice the linear pitch of the chain.
 6. The conveyor system according to claim 1 wherein said driving means includes: a driven wheel connected to said drive sprocket and having a number of radial slots equally angularly spaced and an arcuate recess between each adjacent slot, a drive wheel having a cam follower positioned to rotate into each radial slot in each revolution of the driven wheel and a locating hub positioned to rotate into each arcuate recess to locate the driven wheel in a fixed position when the cam follower is disengaged from the radial slots.
 7. The combination of a terminal applicator press having a terminal applicator for crimping terminals to the ends of electrical wire leads, a shield enclosing the applicator and a conveyor for carrying electrical wire leads from a load position under the shield to the applicator and from the applicator to a discharge position, said conveyor including: an endless chain supported on a pair of sprockets for movement under the shield, a number of clamp assemblies mounted on said chain, means for opening said clamp assemblies at the load position to receive electric wire leads, means for registering the electric wire leads at the load position, means for opening the clamp assemblies at the discharge position to discharge the electrical wire leads from the conveyor, and means for advancing said conveyor chain in a step-by-step manner to move the wire leads from the load position in one step of motion to the applicator and in a second step of motion to the discharge position.
 8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said clamp assemblies are mounted on said chain a spaced distance apart equal to twice the linear pitch of the chain.
 9. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said clamp opening means is selectively movable to allow the clamp assemblies to close on the initial movement of the clamp assemblies from said load position.
 10. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said means for registering the electric wire leads at the loading position includes a plate spaced from and parallel to the chain for aligning the electric wire leads with the terminal applicator at the load position.
 11. The combination according to claim 7 including means on onE of said sprockets for actuating said applicator press at the end of each step of motion.
 12. The combination of a terminal applicator press having a terminal applicator for crimping terminals to the ends of electrical wire leads, a shield enclosing the applicator and a conveyor for carrying electrical wire leads from a load position under the shield to the applicator and from the applicator to a discharge position, said conveyor including an endless chain supported for movement under the shield, a number of normally closed clamp assemblies mounted on said chain, means for opening said clamp assemblies at the load position to receive electric wire leads manually positioned in the clamp assemblies, and means for advancing said conveyor chain in a step-by-step manner to carry the wire leads from the load position in one step of motion to the applicator, said advancing means including a selectively variable speed control switch whereby the operator can set the speed of the conveyor to correspond to the ability of the operator to position the wire leads in the clamp assemblies at the load position.
 13. The combination of a terminal applicator press having a terminal applicator for crimping terminals to the ends of electrical wire leads, a shield enclosing the applicator and a conveyor for carrying electrical wire leads from a load position under the shield to the applicator and from the applicator to a discharge position, said conveyor including: an endless chain supported on a pair of sprockets for movement under the shield, a number of clamp assemblies mounted on said chain, said clamp assemblies being mounted on said chain at spaced intervals equal to twice the linear pitch of said chain, means for opening said clamp assemblies at the load position to receive electric wire leads, means for registering the electric wire leads at the load position, means for opening the clamp assemblies at the discharge position to discharge the electric wire leads from the conveyor, and means for advancing said conveyor chain in a step-by-step manner to move the wire leads from the load position in one step of motion to the applicator and in a second step of motion to the discharge position, one of said sprockets for said chain including means for actuating said terminal applicator at the end of each step of motion. 